Texas man brings 1,600 pound steer to Petco

By Megan Menchaca mmenchaca@statesman.com

Monday

Mar 25, 2019 at 9:11 AMMar 25, 2019 at 9:14 AM

Petco’s policy of “all leashed pets are welcome” isn’t just talk.

When a Texas couple drove up to a Petco, they decided to see if their 1,600-pound Ankole-Watusi steer would be welcome inside the store. And to the surprise of Shelly Lumpkin and Vincent Browning, he was.

With Browning holding the reins, Oliver, known as “the African Watusi,” squeezed his nine and a half feet long horns through the automatic Petco doors on March 17. He was then greeted with laughter, smiles and open arms from the Petco staff, according to Browning’s Facebook post.

“We decided to take a chance and call Petco’s bluff on the ‘ALL LEASHED PETS ARE WELCOME’ policy,” Browning wrote in a Facebook post. “The awesome crew at Petco - Atascocita did not disappoint!!”

Lumpkin told the Houston Chronicle that the couple went to Petco when they saw an employee they knew, who promptly invited them to bring the animal inside the store.

“She talked to her manager and her manager said, ‘Yeah bring him in as long as you clean up the mess,’” Lumpkin told the Chronicle. “We brought him in there and he did great. We didn’t take him down the aisles or anything. We just sat him up front and let everybody pet him.”

The visit to the Atascocita Petco store, located about 25 miles north of Houston, has since gone viral on social media — with more than one million views on the original Facebook post. Petco associate Chrystal Armour told the Chronicle that when the couple had previously mentioned bringing Oliver in, she said the staff would love to meet him.

“They paid us an incredible visit that we won’t forget any time soon,” Armour said to the Chronicle. “Getting to meet such a beautiful and sweet animal was an amazing experience for all of us. We love all of our guests’ animals and the wonderful bond they share.”

The steer’s next antics can be followed on his Facebook page, where he had around 40,000 followers even before he went viral. The account chronicles his life through photos of him napping with his pig friend, Dolly, dressing up in Halloween costumes and taking baths.